Brian Reidy: Milk quality vs quantity as we head into September
One of the key topics covered at the group meeting was how feeding and management can influence milk quality and how long it takes to influence it.
I attended an excellent discussion group meeting earlier this week in West Tipperary. We covered many topics on the night, and there was much discussion, particularly about the quality of fertiliser products and their poor performance on the farm this year.
It’s a bit late in the year for this now, but it is something that all farmers need to consider before they begin to purchase and apply fertiliser in 2025. Granules turning to dust in their spreaders, very poor spread patterns, striping in grazing and silage swards, and low growth were the main concerns of those attending. Are farmers actually getting in the bag what the label says, and if not, how does that affect the fertiliser register and its accuracy? There is much to ruminate on!
One of the key topics covered at the group meeting was how feeding and management can influence milk quality and how long it takes to influence it. As is always the case as we head into September, solid milk percentages rise steadily. This is due to lower dilution as volume decreases.
A normal drop-off beyond peak should only be 1.5/2% per week or 6/8% per month, so any dramatic drop-off in volume is an event worth investigating and not a natural occurrence. An observation I have made this year is that cows that were well-fed during the bad spring to maintain milk yield never hit the peak their usual peak but are currently milking very well.Â
Lactation persistency looks to be excellent this year in those herds where grass was not the obsession when it wasn’t there, or you couldn’t put cows out due to grazing conditions.
This involved supplementing with available forage and concentrates to allow grass to grow and recover, while maintaining optimum dry matter intakes and cow performance. Consistent Dry Matter intake is critical to cow performance, and grass did not feed well enough this year to achieve this on any farm.
Current fat and protein percentages in these herds are good and rising, while producing very good volumes of milk solids per cow. Cows continue to be fed in these herds, with most feeding 4-6kg of concentrates at present, and many spring herds still reporting in excess of 22-24 litres per day, with some delivering over 2kg of milk solids per day.
Lactose percentage was also a topic for discussion during the recent meeting too. Lactose in milk will always drop at this time of year for two reasons in particular:
Chiefly, as cows enter late lactation, the Lactose content of their milk will always reduce; and secondly, the sugar content of grazed grass is lower at this time of year; lactose is a sugar, so less sugar in means less sugar out in the milk. Anyone who has cut silage recently and tested it will tell you that the sugar content of that grass struggled to make 2%.
We also discussed milk urea. However, that ended in frustration as some coops still refuse to supply this very important information to their suppliers.
Most of the dairy genetics in Ireland will give a strong economic response if they are fed more concentrates than they typically get each year. Food for thought, perhaps, when you consider the price of rented land and the lack of skilled labour available at present to facilitate expansion. Many are now considering the option of producing the same milk as they currently do from fewer cows.Â
This all has to be looked at in the context of nitrates restrictions, fertiliser limits, land price/availability, labour availability and any future legislation due to the green agenda our government are obsessed with. Death by a thousand cuts!
I'll share more of the discussion next week when I'll explain how you can make realistic projections for your feed budget plans.
- Brian Reidy is an independent ruminant nutritionist at Premier Farm Nutrition.
